Story by: Sara Welch Milford (WTNH) - One Milford woman was denied insurance coverage all because of the type of dog she owns. And, now she wants to warn other pet owners that they, too, may be at risk.

When it comes to her dog Pryor, Laura Pendleton treats him like family.

"He was a rescue dog," she said.

Pryor came from a Shelter 9-years ago. And since then, the Pitbull Mix has lived with Laura at her home in Milford without any trouble. She's got paperwork from the vet to prove it.

"He said he is an asset to society and he's a loyal, fun-loving, neutered dog," said Laura.

So, when it came time to renew her homeowner's insurance policy, Laura thought nothing of filling out a questionnaire that asked whether a dog lived at the residence and if so what breed.

"And I said American Staffordshire Terrier and two days later I got the renewal notice denied," she said. "And the reason they gave was that he is an unacceptable mix."

So what changed? Why was Laura being dropped by The Hartford? News Channel 8 asked Laura's insurance agent.

"Initially my understanding is the was a terrier mix and that did not present a problem," said Insurance Agent Don Burns. "And on a questionnaire, she indicated the dog was a Pitbull, but breed Pitbull which is going to cause a problem with just about every insurance company in the world."

"When I called him that night I got the cancellation notice he told me that perhaps I was too forthcoming on the questionnaire; that upset me even more," said Laura. "I don't think it's fair to be punished on a breed."

But it's not just Pitbulls that are considered a risk by insurance companies. Other breeds like Rottweilers, Doberman Pincher and German Shepherds are sometimes questioned. It all depends on the insurance company you are dealing with.

"I think it's discrimination," said Laura.

State Senator Ed Myers proposed legislation that forbids insurance companies from denying homeowners insurance because of a specific breed.

It would all allow homeowners to get insurance at a higher premium if their dog has bitten someone before.

"I think there is a way out of this and we are going to do this legislatively," said Sen. Myers.

What does the state insurance department have to say? "Connecticut does allow insurance companies to exclude a specific breed based on risk. It does not allow insurance companies blanket exclusions for all breeds of dogs because the state says that would be unfairly discriminatory to dog owners."

This means insurance companies cannot have a policy that says no dogs will be covered.

The state said because of competition there are insurance companies that will insure pet owners like Laura who says Pryor is staying put.

"Cause he is not going anywhere, he's just not, he's been part of the family for too long," Laura said.

Laura has since found an insurance company that will cover her dog. The legislation may be heard in the coming weeks.

The Committee on Insurance and Real Estate reported through REP. O'CONNOR of the 35th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the House, that the substitute bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING HOMEOWNERS AND TENANTS INSURANCE UNDERWRITING BASED ON BREED OF DOG.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2005) (a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, with respect to a policy for personal risk insurance, as defined in section 38a-663 of the general statutes, delivered, issued for delivery, renewed, amended or continued in this state on or after October 1, 2005, no insurer may use the breed of dog owned by the insured as a basis for (1) establishing rates or minimum premiums under the policy, or (2) cancelling, refusing to renew or refusing to issue such policy.

(b) An insurer may establish rates or minimum premiums under such policy or cancel, refuse to renew or refuse to issue such policy on the basis of (1) the insurer's evaluation of the risk presented by the specific dog owned by the insured, or (2) claims history with respect to the specific dog owned by the insured. Such claims history shall be limited to claims paid because the dog has bitten or attacked a person or animal during the three-year period immediately preceding the renewal or issue date of the policy.

This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:

Section 1 October 1, 2005 New section

INS Joint Favorable Subst.

The following fiscal impact statement and bill analysis are prepared for the benefit of members of the General Assembly, solely for the purpose of information, summarization, and explanation, and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either House thereof for any purpose:

OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact: None

Municipal Impact: None

Explanation

The bill prohibits personal risk insurers from considering an insured’s dog’s breed when setting policy rates or minimum premiums. The bill has no fiscal impact.

OLR Bill Analysis

sHB 6543

AN ACT CONCERNING HOMEOWNERS AND TENANTS INSURANCE UNDERWRITING BASED ON BREED OF DOG

SUMMARY:

This bill prohibits personal risk insurers from considering an insured’s dog’s breed when setting policy rates or minimum premiums. It also prohibits such insurers from using the dog’s breed as the reason for canceling, not renewing, or not issuing a policy.

But, the bill permits such insurers to set rates and premiums and cancel, not renew, or not issue a policy based on (1) a risk evaluation of the insured’s dog or (2) claims paid because the insured’s dog bit or attacked a person or animal during the three years immediately preceding the policy renewal or issue date.

Personal risk insurance includes homeowners, tenants, private passenger automobile, mobile home, and other property and casualty insurance for personal, family, or household needs. The bill applies to personal risk insurance policies delivered, issued for delivery, renewed, amended, or continued on and after October 1, 2005.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2005

COMMITTEE ACTION

Insurance and Real Estate Committee

Joint Favorable Substitute

Yea 9 Nay 7

Never make someone a priority in your life when that someone treats you like an option.

they didn't even go into breed with my insurance company, I think they asked if we had a dog and what size he was...

I'm happy to be living where I am

I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day, tomorrow doesn't look good either.
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"You didn't know of the magical powers of the break stick? It's up there with genies and Harry Potter as far as magic levels go." SisMorphine 01/07/07

When we moved into our new house, our inusrance lady came to the house and looked at the house. She met the dogs and asked what kind. I told her and this was before I knew anything about breed legislation. I am guess I am one of the lucky ones.

mnp13 wrote:Really? According to State Farm Corporate they do not discriminate against breeds. Call them and tell them what the agent told you.

It was almost a year ago. I don't remember her name. I told her she was not permitted to turn me down and she disagreed. I then told her I was taking my business elsewhere as I didn't want to have to persuade somebody to let me give them money.

"Remember - every time your dog gets somewhere on a tight leash *a fairy dies and it's all your fault.* Think of the fairies." http://www.positivepetzine.com"

State farm! We had heard tale of other American Bulldog owners being turned down after the agents coming out to their place because "that dog looks like a pitbull", so we shopped around for a company with no breed discrimination. We are very happy with them, and they are happy with us because we also carry our Life and Auto insurance with them since they were so helpful and non discriminatory with our homeowners's insurance, and we made sure she knew exactly why we picked them!

It's a disgrace in my opinion that some insurance companies still refuse to insure people that own a certain breed. We're living in the 21st century, come on ... Fortunately, there are companies around that don't care what kind of dog you have. I hope my home insurance company won't drop me if I get us a pitbull or a similar breed. Man, that's really ridiculous, just because of the breed, that doesn't have to mean anything ...

However, as I was calling around this week because I'm thinking of changing companies, I ran into my first question about the breeds of my dogs. The lady I was talking with works at an independent insurance company that applies to several different companies to get the best rates.

She: Do you have any pets?Me: yes, three dogs and a cat.She: what are the dogs' mixes?Me: we have a cocker spaniel mix, a lab mix, and and American Pit Bull Terrier.She: ut oh...

Then she went on to lecture me about insurance companies frowning on pit bull type dogs and how much they pay out for dog bites, etc. etc. She said most of the companies she works with would have a problem with my dog. After I got off the phone with her, I thought about the conversation for awhile. I called back and told her to cancel the quotes. I'm not giving my money to any insurance company that discriminates against my PRINCESS or any other dogs based on breed!!!

We just insured with Farm Family Insurance. The guy never asked us about pets. Afterwards we asked the guy if they did have any breed restrictions. He laughed. He said he prefers for scary looking dogs to be running around the house - it deters break ins!

HappyChick wrote:I'm not giving my money to any insurance company that discriminates against my PRINCESS or any other dogs based on breed!!!

George wanted to fib about the breed of our dog to another insurance company. I don't like that in the first place, but I also thought - why do we need to lie so WE can pay THESE dummies OUR MONEY. I'm glad we found a place that doesn't descriminate.

It really is a shame that some homeowner's insurance companies discriminate based on breed. When I buy a house, I'll be going with State Farm just because they don't have policies against certain types of dogs.

As a general rule I do not list Dylan as Pit Bull or Pit Bull mix with anyone. He is registered with the county as a terrier mix.